The University Economic Development Association (UEDA) announced its 2014 Awards of Excellence winners during its Annual Summit held this week in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Awards of Excellence Program recognizes UEDA members who are transforming their campuses into engines of economic prosperity through leading edge initiatives in five categories:
- Community Connected Campus: initiatives that promote the physical development of quality connected campuses and their surrounding communities;
- Research and Analysis: initiatives that enhance the capacity of colleges and universities to provide new forms of research and tools for community, economic and workforce development practitioners;
- Leadership and Collaboration: initiatives that support the development of collaborative economic development strategies and the leaders required to implement them;
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship: initiatives designed to support startups, high-growth companies and clusters within a region; and
- Talent Development: initiatives that promote the development of 21st-century skills.
Rich Overmoyer, UEDA’s Executive Director and President & CEO of Fourth Economy Consulting stated, “As we benchmark cities of regional transformation across North America, there is a noticeable trend in the impact that quality institutions of higher education have on regions of growth.” Overmoyer continued, “these Awards of Excellence category winners and finalists represent regions where universities are playing a role to create sustainable economic growth.”